The last appearance once again held up a mirror to the German team. Not in the sense that it was symbolic of the entire tournament. But he made it clear why in the end it wasn’t enough for more – couldn’t be enough. The dependence on Juri Knorr was too great for that, and this can be seen in all facets in the 31:34 against Sweden.
At the beginning of the game everything went wrong for the German director. When he came back for the second half after a long period of rest and reflection, it was he who brought the Germans once again within reach of a medal. But in the end, even if the young Renars Uscins continued to throw bravely, he still needed someone else to take the burden off his shoulders.
Self-slowed
What a burden that is and how heavy it sometimes is for him – that was no secret. Knorr himself spoke surprisingly openly about how he has to struggle with himself to find his center and not to go too far. Knorr is 23 years old and is the special player in the German team; he sees and can do things that no one else is capable of.
When he played an unremarkable but functionally valuable game in the 35:28 win against Hungary in the main round, he said that he was “proud” of it. In other words, his victory was also because he slowed himself down. However, in a different way, this was also his greatest defeat: when he voluntarily left the field in the semi-final against Denmark and then didn’t give the impression that he wanted to go back. It was the moment in which Knorr seemed mentally slowed down – and with him the Germans on the field.
Ruthless self-accusation
The dependency is not just a problem for the team, it is also a problem for Knorr himself. This was evident in his mea culpa in the mixed zone after the semi-final, a self-accusation that was so ruthless that it hurt to listen to. Because it was clear that Knorr was also doing himself harm – just ask Joshua Kimmich, for whom there was no media escape for a long time from the “hole” into which he feared he would fall after being eliminated from the World Cup. Even if it is a bitter truth: Anyone who shows themselves vulnerable in gladiatorial sport makes themselves vulnerable.
Frank Heike, Cologne Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 12 A comment from Christian Kamp Published/Updated: Recommendations: 3 Frank Heike, Cologne Published/Updated: Recommendations: 5
And so the backward-looking question of this tournament is not just whether Alfred Gislason should have done more to relieve his playmaker – there is some evidence for that, but he didn’t see the younger players as far along yet. But also whether Knorr received enough protection, not least when the elders around Pascal Hens attested that he had handball hara-kiri. Knorr is someone whose style is based on fun, he has to be allowed to play with looseness and also a certain risk in order to be the best version of himself. This is a fine line to walk in sport in general, but especially in handball, where mistakes are often punished so mercilessly.
Looking forward, this means: Whether more will be possible for the Germans at the next tournaments depends not least on how Knorr’s role will be defined: by the national coach, but also by himself. At the European Championships he sometimes seemed like a sad person Timm Thaler, who lost his smile to the handball barons, was the third best scorer of the tournament. What sounds like a contradiction is actually the potential.
